Four moments that defined Uwe Rosler’s time in charge at Leeds United

GONE: Uwe Rosler

Amitai Winehouse

UWE ROSLER’S reign at Leeds United was ended on Monday morning, only 12 games into his spell.

The decision to terminate his contract came after the loss against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, a game that meant Leeds broke a record for the most games at home without a win.

Massimo Cellino’s decision came after a bad run of results, one that included only two wins in Rosler’s time at Elland Road.

However, it could have been so different for Rosler had things gone even slightly differently. Here are the moments that came to define his time in charge.

Sam Vokes’s equalising header for Burnley

Rosler could have avoided breaking the record in his first game in charge, had his team managed to hold a one-goal lead in the last 10 minutes against Burnley. Mirco Antenucci put the side ahead with only minutes to go, but former Leeds United loanee Sam Vokes popped up in the penalty area to head home. It would have been the sort of result to build the positivity that has been lacking at Leeds recently, but ended up as an unwanted blow before Rosler had got going.

Leeds’ collapse against Bristol City

The trip to Bristol was meant to be a difficult match for Leeds to handle, but for the first 80 minutes of the game, the Whites put together a perfect away display. Goals from Chris Wood and Mirco Antenucci put Leeds into a 2-0 lead, but that scoreline turned out to be as dangerous as the cliche suggests. The Elland Road side collapsed in the last moments of the game, with Marco Silvestri handing City the two goals they needed to turn the match around. By the time Aden Flint put home the equaliser, fans were already criticising Rosler’s substitutions, which were seen as negative and overly defensive.

Adam Pearson’s departure

Managers often talk about the importance of the relationship between themselves and the chairman, but at the start of the season, the relationship between chief executive Adam Pearson and Rosler seemed more important. Pearson’s position seemed to provide Rosler with a sense of security that was not present last season.

However, Pearson left suddenly, citing a need to concentrate on other interests, and the safety was gone.

It seems unlikely that Rosler would have departed on Monday had Pearson still been in his job.

Liam Cooper’s injury

Saturday’s display against Brighton and Hove Albion was one of the better performances Leeds have managed at home this season, but it all came to nought as the Whites fell to a late 2-1 loss. It’s questionable as to whether that would have happened had Liam Cooper not been struck by injury. Rosler had replaced the tired Jordan Botaka with Sam Byram just prior, making his third and final substitution, which meant Leeds went down to 10 men.

It meant Leeds had to drop deep to try and hold out for the draw, something they were unable to do.